Child Bullying: What Are The Warning Signs?
By Florrie Poff
Bullying is probably one of the most serious problems your child could ever experience. You may find this article helpful to identify some of the signs that may indicate your child is being bullied.
First of all, bullying includes any behaviour that intimidates or causes your child distress, hurt or pain, whether emotionally, physically or a combination of these.
There is no single reason why a child may be susceptible to bullying. For instance, a child may be bullied because they wear glasses, or because of their physical appearance, religion, race, signs of poverty, family break-up, being shy or simply quiet. The bully usually picks on a child that stands out to be different from other children and so they feel they can easily bully them.
Bullying can destroy the confidence a child has thus leaving them feeling worthless, frightened, withdrawn and isolated. If bullying is not stopped quickly the consequences could impact on a child for many years ahead.
The conclusion of numerous surveys of groups of children recently is that more than 50% said they had been bullied at school. It would appear that despite the fact that most schools have in
place an anti-bullying policy, bullying continues to be a major issue for children of all ages.
Being able to recognise the tell-tale signs that might indicate that your child is being bullied in school or at a club or group that your child may attend is one of the most important things that
parents need to learn and apply. Whilst these signs can be a useful indicator they do not necessarily point to bullying. However, the following are signs to look out for:
• A change in the behaviour of your child such as being moody, depressed, tearful, or quiet
and withdrawn when he/she comes home from school
• Having low self-esteem when previously this appeared good
• Losing interest in school events
• Torn clothes visible after returning from school
• Not sleeping well and/or having bad dreams
• Personal items that are damaged, broken, or are missing
• Fewer friends than before, or no friends at all
• Taking a different route to school than previously
• Being anxious
Modern technology is wonderful and nowadays many children have a cell/mobile phone and internet access. Children often share their phone and email details with their friends, but friendships can easily be broken and their personal information can be used against them to cause distress.
So the question is: Does your child have a cell/mobile phone? A bully could be sending your child rude, threatening or horrible text messages. Unpleasant messages may also be left on an answer phone. Do you know if this is happening to your child? The bully may also be sending your child threatening emails, or several children may be carrying out a very unpleasant campaign against your child through emails or unmonitored internet chat rooms. Therefore, it is very important that parents monitor the use of these modern methods of communication and check how these are affecting your child.
If your child is suffering, it is possible that the cause is not bullying but some other problem. It may be prudent to check out the reason as your child might be genuinely unwell. You are in
the best position to determine what the problem is as you know your child better than anyone else. Seek medical help if necessary.
It is necessary to carry out a careful and thorough investigation to confirm or otherwise whether or not your child is being bullied. It is only when you have done this investigation that you will know the answer. Once you know, you can take whatever action is needed to
protect your child. It is very important that you do not leave anything to chance, so check carefully and regularly.
